Drill guide for hand-held drill

Abstract

A drill guide for a drill bit of a chucked hand-held drill is disclosed. The drill guide includes a mount, a coupler, a telescoping guard, and a guide foot. The mount is configured to couple to a non-rotating portion of the chucked hand-held drill. The coupler extends from the mount and forms a chuck access window aligned with the chuck when the mount is coupled to the non-rotating portion of the chucked hand-held drill thereby allowing a chuck key to interface with the chuck. The telescoping guard extends from the coupler and is configured to telescope into a retracted position from an extended position. The guide foot is coupled to the telescoping guard such that the drill guide enshrouds the drill bit when the telescoping guard is in the extended position, and the drill bit passes through the guide foot when the telescoping guard is in the retracted position.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A drill guide for a drill bit of a chucked hand-held drill including a chuck operable to retain the drill bit in the chucked hand-held drill, the drill guide comprising:
 a mount configured to couple to a non-rotating portion of the chucked hand-held drill; 
 a coupler extending from the mount and forming a chuck access window in an exterior surface of the drill guide, the chuck access window aligned with the chuck when the mount is coupled to the non-rotating portion of the chucked hand-held drill thereby allowing a chuck key to be inserted through the exterior surface of the drill guide and interface with the chuck; 
 a telescoping guard extending from the coupler and configured to telescope into a retracted position from an extended position; and 
 a guide foot coupled to the telescoping guard opposite the mount such that the drill guide enshrouds the drill bit when the telescoping guard is in the extended position, wherein the drill bit passes through the guide foot as the telescoping guard telescopes into the retracted position from the extended position. 
 
     
     
       2. The drill guide of  claim 1 , wherein the coupler is integral with the mount. 
     
     
       3. The drill guide of  claim 1 , wherein the coupler includes a drill guide retention feature configured to removably affix the coupler to the mount. 
     
     
       4. The drill guide of  claim 3 , wherein the drill guide retention feature includes a twist-to-lock mechanism. 
     
     
       5. The drill guide of  claim 4 , further comprising a retention spring configured to bias the coupler in a locked disposition relative to the mount. 
     
     
       6. The drill guide of  claim 5 , wherein the retention spring includes a wavy spring washer. 
     
     
       7. The drill guide of  claim 1 , wherein the telescoping guard includes an interior guard coupled to the mount and an exterior guard coupled to the guide foot, and wherein the exterior guard has an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the interior guard such that the interior guard telescopes into the exterior guard. 
     
     
       8. The drill guide of  claim 1 , wherein the telescoping guard includes an exterior guard coupled to the mount and an interior guard coupled to the guide foot, and wherein the exterior guard has an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the interior guard such that the interior guard telescopes into the exterior guard. 
     
     
       9. The drill guide of  claim 1 , wherein the guide foot includes a bushing having an interior diameter matched to a diameter of the drill bit, and wherein the drill bit passes through the bushing as the telescoping guard telescopes into the retracted position from the extended position. 
     
     
       10. The drill guide of  claim 1 , wherein the mount is configured to coaxially align the telescoping guard and the guide foot with the drill bit. 
     
     
       11. The drill guide of  claim 1 , further comprising a spring configured to bias the telescoping guard toward the extended position. 
     
     
       12. The drill guide of  claim 1 , wherein the coupler forms a plurality of chuck access windows spaced apart around a perimeter of the coupler to allow different points of access to the chuck through the exterior surface of the drill guide. 
     
     
       13. A drill guide for a drill bit of a chucked hand-held drill including a chuck operable to retain the drill bit in the chucked hand-held drill, the drill guide comprising:
 a mount configured to couple to a non-rotating portion of the chucked hand-held drill; 
 a coupler including a twist-to-lock mechanism configured to removably affix the coupler to the mount, the coupler forming a chuck access window in an exterior surface of the drill guide, the chuck access window aligned with the chuck when the mount is coupled to the non-rotating portion of the chucked hand-held drill thereby allowing a chuck key to be inserted through the exterior surface of the drill guide and interface with the chuck; 
 a telescoping guard extending from the coupler and configured to telescope into a retracted position from an extended position; and 
 a guide foot coupled to the telescoping guard opposite the coupler such that the drill guide enshrouds the drill bit when the telescoping guard is in the extended position, wherein the drill bit passes through the guide foot as the telescoping guard telescopes into the retracted position from the extended position. 
 
     
     
       14. The drill guide of  claim 13 , further comprising a retention spring configured to bias the coupler in a locked disposition relative to the mount. 
     
     
       15. The drill guide of  claim 14 , wherein the retention spring includes a wavy spring washer. 
     
     
       16. The drill guide of  claim 13 , wherein the telescoping guard includes an interior guard coupled to the mount and an exterior guard coupled to the guide foot, and wherein the exterior guard has an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the interior guard such that the interior guard telescopes into the exterior guard. 
     
     
       17. The drill guide of  claim 13 , wherein the telescoping guard includes an exterior guard coupled to the mount and an interior guard coupled to the guide foot, and wherein the exterior guard has an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the interior guard such that the interior guard telescopes into the exterior guard. 
     
     
       18. The drill guide of  claim 13 , wherein the guide foot includes a bushing having an interior diameter matched to a diameter of the drill bit, wherein the drill bit passes through the bushing as the telescoping guard telescopes into the retracted position from the extended position, and wherein the bushing is one of a plurality of different bushings configured to be interchangeably coupled to the guide foot, each of the plurality of different bushings having a different interior diameter to accommodate a differently-sized drill bit. 
     
     
       19. The drill guide of  claim 18 , wherein each of the plurality of different bushings includes threads for interchangeably coupling to complementary threads of the guide foot. 
     
     
       20. A drill guide for a drill bit of a chucked hand-held drill including a chuck operable to retain the drill bit in the chucked hand-held drill, the drill guide comprising:
 a mount configured to couple to a non-rotating portion of the chucked hand-held drill; 
 a coupler including a twist-to-lock mechanism configured to removably affix the coupler to the mount, wherein the coupler forms a chuck access window in an exterior surface of the drill guide, the chuck access window aligned with the chuck when the mount is coupled to the non-rotating portion of the chucked hand-held drill and the coupler is affixed to the mount via the twist-to-lock mechanism thereby allowing a chuck key to be inserted through the exterior surface of the drill guide and interface with the chuck; 
 a telescoping guard extending from the coupler and configured to telescope into a retracted position from an extended position; and 
 a guide foot coupled to the telescoping guard opposite the mount such that the drill guide enshrouds the drill bit when the telescoping guard is in the extended position, wherein the drill bit passes through the guide foot as the telescoping guard telescopes into the retracted position from the extended position.